Sarah's birthday eve.
Tonight we went to the SLO farmer's market. Apparently it is the oldest farmer's market in the US. Cool. Seemed more like a street fair with a farmer's market attached. It was still fun though. We checked out the sights and stopped at a booth where they sold Five Fingers. Ended up buying a pair. Hope they work out.
Michael is now catching the cold that Max just finished. It seems to be hitting him a little bit harder than it hit Max. Tonight he was telling us that he remembered being in the hospital when he was 3. HE said he remembers seeing himself from above while he was lying in the bed. I think he is just picturing it in his head from having heard it so many times. He also wanted to know what it was like while we were at home without him. We told him that one of us was always there with him and usually both of us were. He seemed impressed. Kids.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
7/23/12
Another busy day.
Today's project was the hot water heater. You are supposed to clean them out at least annually they say. We have been living full time in here for two years. Oops. To say it was quite disgusting would be understating it by an order of magnitude. There were pounds of scale buildup. The water draining out was a dark grey that obscured the bottom of the container when it was only inches deep. I am ashamed to say this.
Now, I have never been Mr. Maintenance. I am trying to get better. The list of things I need to fix is shortening at the moment faster than it is increasing. I am a humbled man by this disgusting experience. Yeeeecccchhhh.
The sulpher smell was awful. I can't believe we were bathing in that stuff. I didn't have enough supplies even to properly clean it. Luckily one of our neighbors is a Mr. Fixit type who was there to lend a hand, some tools and some advice. I tried to rely on him as little as possible. I could see the barely concealed contempt at the state to which I had allowed the heater to degrade. I rationalized in my head that this maintenance was important to him because of his background in auto mechanics and I spent my efforts maintaining my physical condition. He smokes. I joked with him when I left on my run today that it was time for a different type of maintenance. Still. Doesn't matter, I should have done better. I'm trying. I thanked him for the use of the two tools he loaned me and the advice. He is a nice guy.
Sigh. Then I cleaned out the shower head that was filled with crap that probably came directly from the hot water heater.
Tonight the kids are getting a bit of a lesson. They were told we would all watch a movie together, Second Hand Lions, if they cleaned their room quickly. They dawdled and played. Sarah repeatedly warned them. She stood in the room and told them they needed to hurry. They didn't care. So she told them movie night was cancelled. Many tears ensued, but she stuck to her guns and there will be no movie night for them tonight. Ohhh, the sad stretched faces.
Maybe we will watch a movie after they go to bed.
Today's project was the hot water heater. You are supposed to clean them out at least annually they say. We have been living full time in here for two years. Oops. To say it was quite disgusting would be understating it by an order of magnitude. There were pounds of scale buildup. The water draining out was a dark grey that obscured the bottom of the container when it was only inches deep. I am ashamed to say this.
Now, I have never been Mr. Maintenance. I am trying to get better. The list of things I need to fix is shortening at the moment faster than it is increasing. I am a humbled man by this disgusting experience. Yeeeecccchhhh.
The sulpher smell was awful. I can't believe we were bathing in that stuff. I didn't have enough supplies even to properly clean it. Luckily one of our neighbors is a Mr. Fixit type who was there to lend a hand, some tools and some advice. I tried to rely on him as little as possible. I could see the barely concealed contempt at the state to which I had allowed the heater to degrade. I rationalized in my head that this maintenance was important to him because of his background in auto mechanics and I spent my efforts maintaining my physical condition. He smokes. I joked with him when I left on my run today that it was time for a different type of maintenance. Still. Doesn't matter, I should have done better. I'm trying. I thanked him for the use of the two tools he loaned me and the advice. He is a nice guy.
Sigh. Then I cleaned out the shower head that was filled with crap that probably came directly from the hot water heater.
Tonight the kids are getting a bit of a lesson. They were told we would all watch a movie together, Second Hand Lions, if they cleaned their room quickly. They dawdled and played. Sarah repeatedly warned them. She stood in the room and told them they needed to hurry. They didn't care. So she told them movie night was cancelled. Many tears ensued, but she stuck to her guns and there will be no movie night for them tonight. Ohhh, the sad stretched faces.
Maybe we will watch a movie after they go to bed.
Friday, July 20, 2012
7/20/12
Just blew off today.
Woke up, had coffee and decided, eventually, to drive North to Big Sur and check things out. So we did. There was a waterfall hike we wanted to do and another short, but interesting hike we looked at. Drove for a few hours. We checked out some elephant seals on a beach, saw the Hearst Castle from a distance and drove the twisty roads. We got to the state park and found that no dogs were allowed on trails. So we left Satchel in the truck at the really short hike and checked out a neat waterfall. When we got to the park for the longer hike, still only 1.5 mile round trip, we were reminded by the park ranger that no dog were allowed on the hike and it was too hot to leave the dog in the car. 68 degrees in the shade. Too hot.
Not wanting to piss off a ranger and get cited, we turned around and drove home. Oh well.
Woke up, had coffee and decided, eventually, to drive North to Big Sur and check things out. So we did. There was a waterfall hike we wanted to do and another short, but interesting hike we looked at. Drove for a few hours. We checked out some elephant seals on a beach, saw the Hearst Castle from a distance and drove the twisty roads. We got to the state park and found that no dogs were allowed on trails. So we left Satchel in the truck at the really short hike and checked out a neat waterfall. When we got to the park for the longer hike, still only 1.5 mile round trip, we were reminded by the park ranger that no dog were allowed on the hike and it was too hot to leave the dog in the car. 68 degrees in the shade. Too hot.
Not wanting to piss off a ranger and get cited, we turned around and drove home. Oh well.
7-20-12
Just got home from work and cleaned up. Normally I don't blog after work...too tired. But there is something I wanted to mention while I was still kind of excited about it.
This morning I got an email from the Tough Mudder folks. It was an invitation to the World's Toughest Mudder. The requirements are that you finish in the top 5% of the times at your event. Now, before I get too high and mighty there are a few caveats. There is no official time keeper. My time was measured from my scheduled time til when I remembered to ask Sarah how long it took. Not everyone reports their time. Only those interested in being invited to the WTM. So, it could be that only 5% of the people who ran reported their time, so everyone reporting got an invite. It also might be that anyone that seems interested gets invited as the entry fee is over three times the normal entry fee. Still, I am proud and I have the email saying I was in the top 5%. Yeah me!
The WTM is like a normal TM course, but it is a 24 hour endurance event. Whoever completes the most distance in the time allotted wins. It is a $15,000 prize. I don't think I could win, I don't even think I could go. Sure would be interesting to try some day though. I guess that makes me weird.
Oh well. Time for bed.
This morning I got an email from the Tough Mudder folks. It was an invitation to the World's Toughest Mudder. The requirements are that you finish in the top 5% of the times at your event. Now, before I get too high and mighty there are a few caveats. There is no official time keeper. My time was measured from my scheduled time til when I remembered to ask Sarah how long it took. Not everyone reports their time. Only those interested in being invited to the WTM. So, it could be that only 5% of the people who ran reported their time, so everyone reporting got an invite. It also might be that anyone that seems interested gets invited as the entry fee is over three times the normal entry fee. Still, I am proud and I have the email saying I was in the top 5%. Yeah me!
The WTM is like a normal TM course, but it is a 24 hour endurance event. Whoever completes the most distance in the time allotted wins. It is a $15,000 prize. I don't think I could win, I don't even think I could go. Sure would be interesting to try some day though. I guess that makes me weird.
Oh well. Time for bed.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
7/17/12
Good day today. Actually a couple of good days in a row. Yesterday we called off the chores and went on a hike to Montana De Oro up North of us. That's what we were missing, some adventure. It turned out to be a wonderful day for viewing wildlife. We visited tide pools and saw lots of sea creatures including sea start, anemone and many others. Coming back up from the bay we saw a rattlesnake searching through the bushes. Later on we saw another rattler on the trail. They didn't seem too interested in us so we marched on our merry way. Later we saw some ground squirrels, pelicans, lizards and such. It was a good day and a nice hike.
Today was back to chores. I managed to get our front toilet fixed and knock that off the list. Then it was on to the daily grind of laundry, dishes etc. We decided that we would have a movie night tonight. We rented the worst movie I have ever seen. It is called Smitty. It's about a city boy going to the country and getting a dog. It has no redeeming value at all. Some movies are so bad they are good. This one isn't. Yikes. Now, Sarah and I are going to watch the movie we rented for us while the kids sleep. Wish us luck.
Today was back to chores. I managed to get our front toilet fixed and knock that off the list. Then it was on to the daily grind of laundry, dishes etc. We decided that we would have a movie night tonight. We rented the worst movie I have ever seen. It is called Smitty. It's about a city boy going to the country and getting a dog. It has no redeeming value at all. Some movies are so bad they are good. This one isn't. Yikes. Now, Sarah and I are going to watch the movie we rented for us while the kids sleep. Wish us luck.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
7/15/2012
Posted by THEROTU.
Well, today I'm struggling with my sanity so I thought, "what the heck, I'll put it on the blog". After dragging kids to do laundry at the local laudromat on a Sunday afternoon, in an oceanside vacation city, with a huge GMC3500 dually that doesn't fit anywhere...I'm tired. One of the kids then had an accident at the grocery store right after all the laundry was clean. Yay. Then we HAD to get the next book for Michael because he finished his book report (which is his assignment he now has to complete to get a new book since he whips through them so fast). Of course, they don't have the book he wants so the nice lady who owns the used book store calls a few other stores to see if they have it to no avail. She takes down my number and said she'd call if it comes in. An hour later she calls and says she has it. Gee. Michael begs and pleads so I go BACK to the store and pick it up. Don't forget. I'm driving this big, huge, red truck. Michael also likes to remind me that this truck is not "green" and it's really bad for the Earth. Thank you, Michael. Oh just a typical day for Mommy.
So when the "real world" gets me down, the best way for me to get over the blues is to go on an adventure. Eric has been a little down since the Tough Mudder as well so I sent him a text saying that I thought we should go on a family hike tomorrow to Montana de Oros. Now I find we can't take the dog. Darn. Why can't anything be easy? I also have to pack for our hike tomorrow or we'll never get out before noon, and I need to make dinner so Eric doesn't have to eat frozen food again after working a grueling 14 hour day. It's 615pm. I'm tired. Now I wonder, if I lived in a "sticks and bricks" house would I still be this tired? Probably. Would I be considering hiking around the California coast tomorrow to see a chain of ancient volcanic peaks by the Pacific Ocean? Probably not. I'd be considering pulling weeds or mopping a floor that is much larger than 8'x4'. I'd be reminded we need a new roof and thinking that the walls needed cleaning or some insane thought such I this. So rv living still has its ups. Now if I can just shake off "the real world" and try to enjoy my "vacation life". Oh yes, the rv walls need cleaning too. Darn. Tomorrow we're hiking and I'm going to see pretty stuff if it kills me!
Posted by THEROTU.
Well, today I'm struggling with my sanity so I thought, "what the heck, I'll put it on the blog". After dragging kids to do laundry at the local laudromat on a Sunday afternoon, in an oceanside vacation city, with a huge GMC3500 dually that doesn't fit anywhere...I'm tired. One of the kids then had an accident at the grocery store right after all the laundry was clean. Yay. Then we HAD to get the next book for Michael because he finished his book report (which is his assignment he now has to complete to get a new book since he whips through them so fast). Of course, they don't have the book he wants so the nice lady who owns the used book store calls a few other stores to see if they have it to no avail. She takes down my number and said she'd call if it comes in. An hour later she calls and says she has it. Gee. Michael begs and pleads so I go BACK to the store and pick it up. Don't forget. I'm driving this big, huge, red truck. Michael also likes to remind me that this truck is not "green" and it's really bad for the Earth. Thank you, Michael. Oh just a typical day for Mommy.
So when the "real world" gets me down, the best way for me to get over the blues is to go on an adventure. Eric has been a little down since the Tough Mudder as well so I sent him a text saying that I thought we should go on a family hike tomorrow to Montana de Oros. Now I find we can't take the dog. Darn. Why can't anything be easy? I also have to pack for our hike tomorrow or we'll never get out before noon, and I need to make dinner so Eric doesn't have to eat frozen food again after working a grueling 14 hour day. It's 615pm. I'm tired. Now I wonder, if I lived in a "sticks and bricks" house would I still be this tired? Probably. Would I be considering hiking around the California coast tomorrow to see a chain of ancient volcanic peaks by the Pacific Ocean? Probably not. I'd be considering pulling weeds or mopping a floor that is much larger than 8'x4'. I'd be reminded we need a new roof and thinking that the walls needed cleaning or some insane thought such I this. So rv living still has its ups. Now if I can just shake off "the real world" and try to enjoy my "vacation life". Oh yes, the rv walls need cleaning too. Darn. Tomorrow we're hiking and I'm going to see pretty stuff if it kills me!
Friday, July 13, 2012
7/13/12
Worked two days, off today and work two more days. Won't be a lot of blogging going on. We are trying to decide what to do with the contract here. Last night some things were handled in a way I find uncomfortable with regards to staffing, so I am not so eager to stay here too much longer. The RV park is over crowded. Things are pretty expensive. The salt air is starting to eat through any exposed metal.
On the good side, it is pretty. Dad and Julia are relatively close. The boys have friends. We will see.
So, for my off day I changed the power steering hoses on Flo. They had been leaking. Took about 5 hours. I didn't get my workout in and I suppose I won't until Monday. It will be interesting to see how my shoes hold up after the mudder. I should buy new ones and I suppose I will soon. Another thing on the list. Oh yeah. I put up a second page of pictures on the Adventure Nickel for the Tough Mudder. They include the finish and some other shots. I will continue adding them as I get time. Stinking internet connection here takes forever. At least we have a connection.
So...does it look like I took the day off?
On the good side, it is pretty. Dad and Julia are relatively close. The boys have friends. We will see.
So, for my off day I changed the power steering hoses on Flo. They had been leaking. Took about 5 hours. I didn't get my workout in and I suppose I won't until Monday. It will be interesting to see how my shoes hold up after the mudder. I should buy new ones and I suppose I will soon. Another thing on the list. Oh yeah. I put up a second page of pictures on the Adventure Nickel for the Tough Mudder. They include the finish and some other shots. I will continue adding them as I get time. Stinking internet connection here takes forever. At least we have a connection.
So...does it look like I took the day off?
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